LtCmdr Tamio K'Wara - Not Ready to be Tammy Spacedust
LtCmdr Tamio K'Wara
(( TransTube - Deck 08, Afalqi ))
On a scale from 0 to 10, Tamio would give the Afalqi’s Transtube network a solid 7. It could, without a doubt, be fun and much faster than both Jefferies’ Tubes and turbolifts, but maneuvering them without a Shu’Da’al practitioner was definitely not recommended. They were going to be nursing a bruise on their forehead until they had the time to get back to the Artemis and get the subdermal bleeding mended.
For the moment though, they’d count themself lucky if all the group managed to walk away from their free fall with was a bruise.
K’Wara: Ow... As fun as that was, I feel like the absence of a safety harness was uncalled for. ::looks between them:: Everyone landed properly?
Tarsan: Landed, yes. With nothing broken so I’m going to call that a success.
Ava - who’d finished their fall in a clumsy imitation of a cat drop - rose to her feet in an attempt to smooth over her landing.
Munro: :: sucks in a breath :: Nothing broken, except my dignity :: shakes her head :: That was not fun :: she pointed upwards :: Let’s try and make the reverse trip a little more pleasant. I want to enjoy the view.
K’Wara: That’s up to Gavrin, I’d say. ::winks:: But practice makes perfect, isn’t that right?
It didn’t take an empath to know what Gavrin thought of that eventuality.
Tarsan: Yes, I think I will have better control of it for the upwards journey.
Munro: Good. Where too now?
K’Wara: To find some scanning equipment that wants to work with the Afalqi, hopefully.
Which would be very difficult from within the transtube, granted, so Tamio looked towards Gavrin and recalled why they’d always figured that engineers had to be masochists by nature. No single duty post within Starfleet’s framework was as lauded for their ability to perform miracles as Engineers. (Perhaps with the exception of the truly exceptional pilots, of course.)
They watched as another oblong control panel attempted to earn Gavrin’s attention, but in the trust meanings of ‘the cold shoulder’, the Engineer ignored it and continued walking down the access hatch.
Tarsan: I think this should be right by the science lab.
Ava looked at them with a shrug, and Tamio restrained themself from grinning too widely back at her.
Munro: I guess we’re going this way.
Tamio gestured for Ava to go first as the two of them followed the Ensign, who was already moving along the wall to locate their means of escaping the tube.
K’Wara: Finding anything?
Tarsan: Interesting, there is a field here of similar frequency, so I think, so so far, the theory holds.
Munro: Can we operate the door with it?
The door soon slid open as Gavrin worked his magic, before moving aside to let Tamio and Ava take point. Tamio peeked out into a dimly lit corridor - maybe the Afalqi, due to being low on staff, was running on low power? - and when they didn’t see anyone, gestured for Ava that it was safe to proceed. Following closely behind, they kept moving in the direction Gavrin had indicated, before the faintest of hums from an incoming intersection became audible.
Munro: :: puts her fingers to her lips ::
Wordlessly, the trio sidled up along the wall, pressing themselves flat to remain out of sight.
Female voice: ::indistinct chatter: -iation increas- ::indistinct chatter:: -traction possible?
Male voice: ::mumbles:: -oo thick. The Nasca- ::indistinct chatter:: -like it.
The contents of the conversation was basically impossible to catch at this distance, and it got progressively harder as it sounded like the two speakers were moving away from the intersection, and the trio who remained hidden.
K’Wara: ::whispers:: They’re moving away.
Tarsan: Response
Munro: :: low :: Are we picking up a signal? For an entrance to the lab or a console?
Tarsan: Response
Once they felt fairly certain that the speakers were too far away to hear their footsteps, the three of them moved towards the nearby door, which slid open with relatively little resistance. Ava led them inside, but just as Tamio started to follow, the sound of shouting echoed from the direction of the retreating speakers.
What followed was Tamio manhandling Gavrin through the door at the greatest urgency, and it slid closed soon after.
Munro: :: whisper :: Did they see us?
Tamio remained pressed against the wall next to the door, trying to listen to the hallway outside.
K’Wara: ::quiet:: I don’t think so, but- Shh!
Tarsan: Response
There was more shouting, most of it intelligible, when the ship-wide intercom roared to life with a half-mutilated word that Tamio barely recognized for what it was.
Female voice: BRACE!
The Afalqi shook around them as something impacted heavily with the Ship shields, sending them straight to the floors. Screaming could be heard from the hallway - the sound of a civilian faced with the first notion of space combat - while Tamio climbed to their feet, cursing in quiet panic.
K’Wara: Crap. That wasn’t the Artemis, was it?
Munro/Tarsan: Response
Tamio tried their combadge, but to no avail.
K’Wara: They can’t hear us. The virus must still be effective.
Munro/Tarsan: Response
K’Wara: We need to hurry. If the Artemis doesn’t get into the firefight soon, we’re going to be spacedust.
Munro/Tarsan: Response
TAG/TBC
LtCmdr Tamio K’Wara
Chief of Ops
USS Artemis-A
A240006GS1